City officials announced today that paid parking in the Dickson Street area will not be enforced during during this year’s Bikes, Blues & BBQ rally.
Beginning Monday and lasting through Saturday, Oct. 2, all pay stations will be covered and parking will be free in the public lots and on the streets.
Of course, once the rally begins, the majority of lots in the area will be closed and full of vendors anyway leaving only the on-street parking spaces available for use.
The residential areas are not affected by the temporary change and will continue to be off limits for non-residents. For those unfamiliar with the area, residential spaces are numbered between 1 and 299.
Beginning Sunday, Oct. 3, the normal parking fees will resume, but not until 2 p.m. The city council last week passed an ordinance to move the time for paid parking to begin daily at 2 p.m. instead of 10 a.m. in order to provide some immediate relief for businesses in the area. Business owners said they’ve experienced a 30 to 40 percent decline in daytime revenue since paid parking was implemented in August.
